


Complications: a triptych

by raithnait



Category: Dark Matter (TV)
Genre: Das and Portia are sisters, Gen, How Das got out of the airlock, before the memory loss, implied Marcus/Portia if you squint, post episode 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 08:18:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4384286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raithnait/pseuds/raithnait
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was speculating on how Das might have gotten out of the airlock and accidentally a fic... Each chapter is the same scene from a different POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Portia

Portia was on her way to the bridge when she noticed Marcus hanging around an airlock. She walked up to him.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked, quietly curious.

“Caught a stowaway, I was just about to space her.” His smirk was a little bit too much for Portia’s tastes. She stepped forward to glance through the glass. A teenage girl in a ragged jacket with green hair turned to look at her with a scared face that was all too familiar.

“Let her out, now!”

“Are you _serious?_ She’s a stowaway-”

“That’s my sister, Boone, now _open the damn door_.” Portia’s voice had gone dangerously quiet and Marcus released the door without the slightest grumbling, which was a first. He always seemed to grumble.

The door slid back to reveal her sister, several inches taller and considerably more ragged than she remembered, but undoubtedly her baby sister. Now that she wasn’t in immediate danger of going out the airlock, Das slouched awkwardly in front of Portia, occasionally throwing angry glances at Marcus.

“Das, what the _hell_ are you doing here?” Portia wasn’t aware of when she’d crossed her arms, but it was probably better than many of the things she wanted to do to her sister right now, like shake her or smack her.

“I didn’t know this was your ship.”

“Well, you’re damn lucky it _was_ my ship or you’d be dead. You shouldn’t be on a ship at all, you should be home.”

“What do _you_ care?” Portia was surprised how much that hurt, of course she cared, this was her baby sister.

“What’s Mom going to say when she finds out you’ve been sneaking onto ships?” She knew it wasn’t fair to pull their mother into this, but she didn’t know what else to say. Das glared up at her.

“I _doubt_ she’ll say anything. She died two years ago.”

“Mom died?” Portia was shaken by the news, but she had to keep it together. Too many people were relying on her right now. She pushed the grief down deep to deal with it later. “Das, I didn’t know.”

“Because you didn’t care, Portia. You left and never came back and I had to take care of Mom when she got sick!”

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

“You being sorry doesn’t change anything.” Portia sighed. It had already been a long day, and now her sister was here and she hated her and their mother was dead.

“Look, I can’t deal with this right now. Marcus, can you show her to my quarters?”

“Sure thing, boss.” He had been remarkably quiet through this whole encounter, quieter than since she’d met him.

“Das, you’re going to stay there, no sneaking around. I’ll talk to you later.” Her sister didn’t meet her eyes, but Marcus did. She nodded in response to the unspoken question in his eyes. Das would probably hate her even more after being locked in, but leaving her free to wander the ship seemed a bad idea.

“Marcus, I need you on the bridge after that. Corso has something he wants to say.”

“There’s something about that guy, I don’t trust him.” Portia felt the ghost of a smile on her lips. Marcus Boone himself wasn’t exactly the most trustworthy, either.

“You don’t have to like him, you just have to work with him. After this job is over we can go our separate ways.”

“Come on, kid.” Portia watched them as they walked down the hallway. This was a complication she _really_ didn’t need.


	2. Das

Das was starting to panic, he was really gonna space her… but then someone was talking to the guy. One of the other crewmembers, but Das couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“Caught a stowaway, I was just about to space her.” He looked way too happy about that, if Das ever got out of here she’d make sure he regretted it. Someone else stepped up to the window and Das turned to look… right at her sister. Oh, crap. This was bad.

“Let her out, now!” Maybe not as bad as if Portia hadn’t been there, but… still not great.

“Are you serious? She’s a stowaway-” She couldn’t hear whatever Portia said after that but apparently it convinced him to open the door because now there was nothing to shield her from her sister’s wrath. Das hunched into her jacket, not wanting to see the disappointment radiating off her sister. Like _Portia_ was such a saint.

“Das, what the _hell_ are you doing here?”

“I didn’t know this was your ship.” She knew she was mumbling. Mom would have scolded her for that, but Portia didn’t seem to care, she was too angry about the situation.

“Well, you’re damn lucky it _was_ my ship or you’d be dead. You shouldn’t be on a ship at all, you should be home.”

“What do _you_ care?” Portia hadn’t been home in three years, but she was suddenly telling Das what to do?

“What’s Mom going to say when she finds out you’ve been sneaking onto ships?” Das crossed her arms, mirroring Portia’s confrontational stance, glaring up at her big sister for the first time in years.

“I _doubt_ she’ll say anything. She died two years ago.” Das watched her sister closely to see her reaction.

“Mom died?” Portia was quiet for a minute, but it didn’t look like she felt anything. Did she really not care? Finally she spoke again, “Das, I didn’t know.” Like that was some kind of excuse.

“Because you didn’t care, Portia. You left and never came back and I had to take care of Mom when she got sick!”

“I’m… I’m sorry.” 

“You being sorry doesn’t change anything.” It didn’t change the fact that Das had been living on the streets for two years, doing almost anything to survive. Portia sighed, like this was all some big inconvenience, like _Das_ was purposely messing up _her_ life.

“Look, I can’t deal with this right now. Marcus, can you show her to my quarters?”

“Sure thing, boss.” 

“Das, you’re going to stay there, no sneaking around. I’ll talk to you later.” She didn’t look up at her sister. There was no way she’d promise not to sneak around and she knew Portia could read her too well, she’d see the lie on her face before Das said a word.

“Marcus, I need you on the bridge after that. Corso has something he wants to say.”

“There’s something about that guy, I don’t trust him.” If this Marcus guy didn’t trust him, maybe Das could use that to her advantage… or maybe Corso was even worse.

“You don’t have to like him, you just have to work with him. After this job is over we can go our separate ways.”

“Come on, kid.” She followed Marcus down the hall, knowing he wouldn’t hesitate to grab her arm and drag her if he had to, but at least he seemed a bit nicer knowing who she was related to.

“Are you sleeping with my sister?” She asked suddenly as the thought occurred to her. He laughed softly, more of a huff as he breathed out.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” Which probably meant he was but didn’t want to talk about it with some kid he just met. Just a few more feet down the hallway he stopped and tapped at a keypad by one of the doors.

“Here you go, kid.” Das walked in, staring around at all the space, the luxury. She had to remind herself that this was her sister’s place, she didn’t need to case the joint. The door whispered closed behind her and she waited several minutes, to make sure he was gone, before trying it. She wasn’t surprised to find that it was locked. She had to find a way out, though. TJ still needed meds and it sounded like everyone on the crew was meeting on the bridge right about now so the infirmary should be clear. There was a vent in the ceiling, it was just a matter of how she was going to climb up there, if the cover would even open from this side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second verse, same as the first. This one was much more fun to write, though.


	3. Marcus

Portia walked up behind him right as he was reaching for the switch to space the kid.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked quietly, in a mildly curious tone he’d never heard her use.

“Caught a stowaway, I was just about to space her.” His satisfied smirk only lasted until Portia stepped up and saw who was behind the glass.

“Let her out, now!” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, who’d take _Portia Lin_ for a bleeding heart type?

“Are you _serious?_ She’s a stowaway-”

“That’s my sister, Boone, now _open the damn door_.” Portia’s voice had gone dangerously quiet, and she used his last name which meant it was an _order_ , not a suggestion. He opened the door without further protest and stood by, watching the confrontation between the sisters. The kid was slouching, trying to shrink into herself. She wasn’t really making much eye contact with Portia but occasionally she’d look over and glare at him. If she was anything like her sister, she’d hold that nearly-spacing-her thing against him for a long time.

“Das, what the _hell_ are you doing here?”

“I didn’t know this was your ship.”

“Well, you’re damn lucky it _was_ my ship or you’d be dead. You shouldn’t be on a ship at all, you should be home.”

“What do _you_ care?”

“What’s Mom going to say when she finds out you’ve been sneaking onto ships?” The kid mirrored her big sister’s stance exactly, probably unconsciously, as she glared up at her. He hadn’t seen the resemblance before but now it was uncanny, despite the green hair on the younger one.

“I _doubt_ she’ll say anything. She died two years ago.”

“Mom died?” Portia was clearly shaken by the news, but she kept it together. She wouldn’t let herself fall apart until tonight, probably, if at all before the job was over.

“Das, I didn’t know.”

“Because you didn’t care, Portia. You left and never came back and I had to take care of Mom when she got sick!” The kid was pissed, and with good reason, it sounded like. Still, it was a bit harsh.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

“You being sorry doesn’t change anything.” Portia sighed, she was weary. There had already been too many complications with this job, Marcus knew. 

“Look, I can’t deal with this right now. Marcus, can you show her to my quarters?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

“Das, you’re going to stay there, no sneaking around. I’ll talk to you later.” He met her gaze evenly, one eyebrow quirked up to ask whether he was supposed to lock the kid in. He was glad when she nodded – a kid that would stowaway on a ship wasn’t likely to just sit in a room nicely because her sister asked her to, and there were too many dangerous things on the Raza for her to find.

“Marcus, I need you on the bridge after that. Corso has something he wants to say.” He grimaced, shaking his head softly.

“There’s something about that guy, I don’t trust him.” Portia looked amused about that for some reason.

“You don’t have to like him, you just have to work with him. After this job is over we can go our separate ways.” He nodded, but secretly hoped maybe not all of them would go separate ways. There were some on this crew he wouldn’t mind knowing better.

“Come on, kid.” She walked obediently a step behind him, probably aware that he wouldn’t hesitate to drag her again. After walking maybe twenty feet down the corridor, the kid looked up at him, with the same thoughtful gaze her sister sometimes had.

“Are you sleeping with my sister?” He laughed softly, more of a huff as he breathed out.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” She didn’t respond, and it was just a few more feet down the corridor to Portia’s room. He tapped in the access code and gestured for the kid to walk in.

“Here you go, kid.” She looked like she’d never seen such a big empty room in her life, and maybe she hadn’t. Marcus closed the door behind her and tapped in the code to lock it. Now to go deal with whatever bullshit Jace Corso was concerned about…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so there's a bit more (oblique) shippy stuff in this one, because this was the chapter when I realized how I'd already implied some sort of relationship between Portia & Marcus. I had a harder time writing this chapter than the first two but I really wanted to round out the scene with this last perspective.

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about how Das might have gotten out of the airlock and this happened. I came up with most of the dialogue first and then as I was fleshing it out at first I was like "this is too much from Portia's perspective, I want to see this from Das' perspective, too" so, I did. 
> 
> Chapter 1 = Portia, Chapter 2 = Das, Chapter 3 = Marcus. I didn't really intend to imply Portia/Marcus but realised by the time I was writing the 3rd chapter that I'd given him the access code and the lock code to Portia's room which certainly implies *something*. 
> 
> And yes, I really did write a fic that's not One/Three...


End file.
